Maybe it’s because the ratoots are so very interested in everything that’s happening in or around their cage, this interaction alone makes me happy.

But it’s also the opportunity to escape everyday life and all its worries and enter the rattie world.

And because in their world ratties are boss, a lot of things are determined by them. For example, how the cage is structured:

Who sleeps where, who eats first, where is the toilet, what material is being used, which nest is being moved, who gets to choose their favourite spot and who has to stay out, is all being decided by the rats.

These are entertaining dynamics which change and evolve all the time, so it’s like watching a soap opera.

The creativity how to build and revamp your rattie cage is endless. There are even rat cages made from cupboards or doll houses, so you get a chance to play architect, too.

Don’t wait until one of your favourite tops / belts or expensive gadgets / ear phones are munched up by these munchkins. Making your home ratproof only means getting organised and keeping things neat, so take this as a motivation to get your life in order:

– Seal all potential holes

Ratties are explorers. If you let them free-roam, ensure they cannot possibly escape by checking for and sealing any openings in your home. Remember, if their head can fit through, the hole is big enough for the whole rattie to get through.

– Pack your things away

Get rid of all that clutter. Don’t bother putting it ‘out of reach’ – this concept doesn’t exist in rat world, rats can get anywhere they want, and that’s mostly because they’re so darn stubborn about it! I’ve witnessed rats walk up walls, jump up furniture and pull themselves up with just their upper body strength. They’re amazing acrobats and fun to watch in their adventures.

– Protect your plants

Rats burrow. If you don’t want your plants to be dug out or tunnelled under, place heavy – and I mean heavy – stones on top of your pot plants’ soil. I’ve caught pet rats work in teamwork to remove rocks from my large palm tree pot…

– Organise your cables

Rats love to chew cables, especially when electricity runs through them. I once saw a pet rat electrically charged after she bit through the stereo cable and caused the fuse to blow. She was fine and I suspect she liked it… that tingly feeling on their teeth… Wire your cables through a cable tube or wrap them in a cable zipper.

– Don’t leave food around

Rats are scavengers and will steal your food or anything edible. They won’t necessarily eat it though, but hoard it, and possibly somewhere unreachable. As rats are extremely picky with their food, chances are you end up with it going off somewhere unknown. Always feed your pet rats in their cage, so if they do steal food, they’ll bring it there.

– Clean up after yourself

Rats are not dirty: They groom themselves more often than cats and are naturally housetrained. It is us humans who leave dirt behind that attracts rats in the first place. Don’t blame rats for your bad habits. Clean up right away, so it’s out of the way.

– Prevention is always best

All these simple means are not only keeping your pet rats at bay, but also prevent wild rats from bothering you. Once you have a rat problem, it’s very difficult to get rid of them: Poison is not only inefficient and cruel, it is also likely to kill more wildlife than actual rats.

Rats love to roam and explore, they go on quests and rummage. It is fun to watch them.

However, from a rat’s perspective your space is their space, and that can cause some conflicts:

– Rats have ever-growing teeth and need to gnaw or grind them regularly. Make sure it’s not your favourite object that falls prey to this foraging behaviour.

– Rats love to build nests and have the perfect shredder mechanism. Their razor-sharp incisors will go through your couch / curtains / bedding like butter.

– Rats are scavengers and hoarders. That means whatever dirty secrets you have hidden beneath the couch, they will find it, and keep it.

– Rats are opportunists and curious to the ‘killed the cat’ level. Coupled with a determination that would leave the Terminator taken aback, they will get to that place that you thought they’d never reach. So prepare. For ALL eventualities.

Every now and then a really special pet comes along. Of course, they are all special. But some are super special. 🙂

Mewsels was such a super special pet rat. She is still the source of many amazing anecdotes.

If you want to learn how incredibly caring and clever rats are, then read on:

I 100% trusted Mewsels, so she was a free-roaming pet rat with her cage always open. The cage was on a chest of drawers, which stood about half a meter away from my bed.

For a young rat easy to jump, but this story happened when Mewsels was an old lady:

One night, grandma Mewsels decided to get out of her cage and come to me.

This must have been a big effort for her, as rather than jump onto the bed, in her old age she wisely climbed onto the top of the radiator and balanced across it. Still, quite a feat.

I wasn’t aware of any of this, as I was sound asleep.

Until little Mewsels comes right up to my face and wakes me.

I, in my sleepiness, tell her off: She must leave me alone, ‘I want to sleep!’

But Mewsels doesn’t think so and persists on waking me.

And then it happened: The weirdest most unsettling strange feeling I had every experienced, somehow as if I had been surrounded by vibration that left me suspended above my bed.

I remember clearly thinking: ‘There better be an explanation for that or I’m officially going mad!’ Because I could not possibly explain what had just happened.

But it was still in the middle of the night and my sleep and after cuddling with Mewsels a bit and calming her down, I put her back in the cage and quickly fell asleep again.

The next morning I was greeted with the news: There had been an earthquake!

Earthquakes are very rare in Europe and this is still the only time I experienced one.

But what astounds me more:

Not only did Mewsels know the earthquake was coming quite ahead of time, she also decided to warn me.

She could’ve run away or hid away or froze. But she decided to go through the trouble of reaching me, and more challengingly: waking me.

And if something had happened, it would’ve been us together in this. Not that it wasn’t unsettling enough. And yes, focussing on Mewsels because of her unusual behaviour kept me occupied with something easier to deal with than my own paranoia.

That’s why I adore and love pet rats so much: They are so much more cleverer than we think. And they are so much more kinder and caring than many of us.